Playing Make-Believe with #homemadeDisney Pandemic Ride Videos

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when Disney theme parks closed in March 2020, fans began re-creating park rides at home using everyday objects, a phenomenon known as the #homemadeDisney trend. This analysis examines the trend through Kendall Walton's make-believe and mimesis framework, arguing that its spread reflected low barriers to entry, emotional resonance during a period of isolation, and its function as playful coping and collective creativity. The trend's origins are traced to Jess Siswick's viral re-creation of Soarin' Over California, which drew over 21,000 likes within days, and the study draws on a survey of 150 English-language videos.

Findings indicate that the trend's "ride aesthetic" depended more on props and simulated motion than on narrative elaboration or technical polish. Desk chairs, laundry baskets, plush toys, and phone camera movements stood in for ride vehicles and animatronics, with ride motion emerging as the most common concept. Vehicles were the most prevalent and popular props, establishing the fictional park while offering sensory play. Intangible elements, including virtual screens, ride audio, and shared fan knowledge such as queue jokes, proved equally central to the make-believe. Over time, the trend shifted from grassroots, low-budget amateur work toward high-production fan videos and eventual appropriation by Disney's official channels.

The trend faded once Walt Disney World reopened and consumption displaced production. The Disney Parks Blog's move toward behind-the-scenes and "authentic" content reflects the company's effort to offer reassurance to fans while maintaining brand visibility. The study concludes that this ephemeral phenomenon represents a significant case of social imagining and multimodal mimetic play, supporting the use of make-believe theory to understand how representational works function as props for both children and adults.